Year 10 vocabulary glossary

Paper 1

The GCSE English Language exam paper focused on fiction reading and creative writing.

creative writing

Writing intended to engage, entertain or move a reader, such as a descriptive or narrative piece.

language technique

A specific method a writer uses to affect meaning or create an effect, such as a simile, metaphor or repetition.

structural feature

A choice about how a text is organised, such as its narrative order, focus, or how information is withheld or revealed.

Paper 2

The GCSE English Language exam paper focused on non-fiction reading and transactional (viewpoint-based) writing.

non-fiction

Writing based on real facts, events or opinions, rather than an invented story.

viewpoint

The position or opinion a writer holds on their subject, conveyed through their language choices.

fact or opinion

The distinction between a statement that can be proven true (fact) and a personal judgement (opinion).

comparison

Examining how two texts are similar to or different from each other, in content, method or effect.

closed-book exam

An exam in which students cannot bring in copies of the set texts and must recall quotations and details from memory.

19th-century novel

A novel written during the 1800s, one of the required GCSE Literature set-text categories, studied for its context as well as its content.

critical vocabulary

Precise, subject-specific terms used to analyse and discuss literature, such as 'protagonist', 'motif' or 'narrative arc'.

analytical response

A piece of exam writing that examines and explains how and why a text creates particular meanings or effects, supported by evidence.